Big tax bill

[MonkeyMama]

MonkeyMama,

We have some retired clients at our firm that like to actively manage their own investments. I had one guy with 2,436 transactions to import, check and reconcile.

O.M.G.

[LivingAlmostLarge]

Owe like $400. Much better than owing $12k last year. Yes $12k. We made a large mistake in our withholdings last year.

[johntomba]

You pay dues to go and pray!? Sounds like a scam.

[disneysteve]

You pay dues to go and pray!? Sounds like a scam.

It's always a great idea to come to a site as a newbie and start out by insulting the long time regulars.

Putting that aside for a moment, no, we don't pay dues to pray. Anyone can attend religious services - no membership required. Of course, if everyone did that and nobody joined and paid dues, those religious services wouldn't exist. There would be no building, no Rabbi, no Cantor, etc.

Membership dues pay to support a whole host of programs and services, not just what happens in the sanctuary. Dues-based membership is extremely common in Judaism. It is not the only model but is probably the one most often encountered. It differs from many other religions because every synagogue is independent and totally responsible for their own expenses. There is no central body that provides funding of any sort. If we need money, we need to raise it either through dues or fundraising.

[dunnrobert700]

Don't think of it as a $2300 cost, think of it as a couple hundred dollars more you made in interest and returns this year than you would have if you had sent that same money to the IRS earlier